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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27951776">Stranded Lullaby</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweaterTroubles/pseuds/SweaterTroubles'>SweaterTroubles</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Adopted Sibling Relationship, Alternate Universe - Realistic Minecraft, Angst, Dave | Technoblade and Wilbur Soot and TommyInnit are Siblings, DreamSMP - Freeform, Exiled Tommyinnit, Family Dynamics, Found Family, Gen, Ghostbur, IRL Minecraft, Past Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:00:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,707</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27951776</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweaterTroubles/pseuds/SweaterTroubles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After being exiled by Tubbo, Tommy's forced to try to live on his own. He's being haunted by the ghost of Wilbur, who can't seem to remember all his memories. As Tommy struggles to make a life on his own and deal with Wilbur, who he can't determine is really a ghost or a testament to his own madness from being out on his own, he's paid a visit by the last person he wants to see. // AU where Tommy's the only one able to see Ghostbur, but he can't figure out if he's actually a real ghost or if it's all in his mind. (The past canon death is Wilbur, by the way! No new deaths here! Just sad SBI family times!)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dave | Technoblade &amp; TommyInnit, Dave | Technoblade &amp; Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit &amp; Phil Watson, No Romantic Relationship(s), TommyInnit &amp; Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot &amp; TommyInnit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>64</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>370</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>After watching the exile stream, I couldn't get the thought out of my head about Ghostbur haunting Tommy and Tommy "talking" to Ghostbur, but in reality he's only talking to himself and haunted by the memories of Wilbur because he can't seem to let him go. So that thought eventually spiraled into this. Hopefully it's good!</p><p> The title is taken from "Stranded Lullaby" by Miracle Musical, by the way! It gives me very sad SBI family vibes, but also soft and hopeful ones as well.</p><p> </p><p>A small note: This is all based off of their personas, not the real people!<br/>Warnings: I'd like to let you know that this is based of Tommy's current arc, so there will be hints of depression. There won't be any graphic displays of this, but there will be instances of depressed thoughts on Tommy's end that may border on suicidal. I'm not saying that Tommy will be suicidal in this, but I want to give a warning that there will be thoughts bordering on this, so I want to make sure this is clear for everyone's safety.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You know, Tommy, I think I’m really starting to like it out here! I know I can’t smell the fresh air anymore -- I don’t have lungs anymore --, but I think I quite like the view!” Wilbur rambled on. The ghost trailed behind him as he trekked through the forest, gathering wood to burn back home.</p><p> Home. He was thinking of this place as home now. Just great.</p><p> Tommy didn’t bother to reply to his nonsense. He continued gathering up fallen chunks of wood and sticks to store in his inventory instead, hoping to soon tune out the ghost’s meaningless words.</p><p> “Yeah, it’s really nice!” Wilbur answered himself. Tommy didn’t bother to look back at him, but he could imagine the ghost hovering around to take in this “nice view” he was blabbering about. He never strayed very far though. Tommy wasn’t actually sure if he was even capable of going further than several meters away. He’d only ever seen Wilbur go a few trees worth of distance away from him.</p><p> “All the trees. Oh, and the ocean,” Wilbur continued easily. “I really like that we’re so close to the ocean. We should really build that dock. Then maybe we can go visit your friends! We haven’t seen anyone in a long time! Maybe we can see Tubbo! And Fundy and Niki. What do you think?”</p><p> Tommy closed his eyes, trying to block out the ghost’s words. Even though he’d told Wilbur many times that he couldn’t go back, the ghost never seemed to remember and always insisted to remind him about the country he’d been forced to leave behind. Perhaps it’s his mind torturing him. As if he wasn’t suffering enough already. Maybe he deserved it.</p><p> “You’re awfully quiet these days, Tommy,” the other stated. “It’s weird. I remember you used to never stop talking. At least, I think I’m remembering that right. Is something wrong?”</p><p> When he opened his eyes again, Tommy was greeted by the pale face of his fallen brother in front of him. Wilbur’s white eyes seemed to glow with concern, but Tommy couldn’t bring himself to care. Sighing, he merely kept walking, passing through the ghost and dismissing the slight chill in his bones. He’d grown far too accustomed to the cold.</p><p> If he had bothered to look back, he would have seen Wilbur frowning at his retreating figure. The ghost swiftly caught up to him again. “Tommy? Ah, come on. You can’t go ignoring me now. Maybe we should do something more fun. I’m sure you have enough wood now. We could go decorate the house. Wouldn’t that be nice? And then we can make another campfire.”</p><p> “I don’t want to make a campfire, Wilbur,” Tommy muttered. Drawing his ax, he started to take out another tree and gathered up the wood. He was making steady progress, but his stone ax was quickly wearing down. Shaking his head, he flicked his wrist, storing it away once more and returned to gathering the stacks of wood.</p><p> He’d be able to get one more usage out of the ax. After that, he’d likely have to go back. The day was fading fast anyway, so he supposed it wasn’t the worst idea. With luck, he’d be able to find more food on the way back too.</p><p> “Don’t be like that,” Wilbur insisted, appearing in front of him again. The sudden appearance startled the boy, but the reaction was short-lived. The blond’s wide eyed expression soon relaxed back into an unimpressed look. Wilbur didn’t seem to let his reaction get him down though. “Come on! Let’s have fun! We never have fun anymore. Ooh, I know! Let’s go back to the ocean and gather some shells to decorate the house! Wouldn’t that be nice?”</p><p> Sighing again, Tommy bypassed the spirit to grab the rest of the wood. He could feel the rough bark dig into his hands, but even that fell dull. Everything felt so dull these days. “Go away, Wilbur. I’m trying to work.”</p><p> “Exactly!” The other exclaimed proudly, as if he’d somehow hit the nail on the head. He floated beside Tommy, grinning brightly back at the boy with a smile as radiant as the yellow sweater he wore. All Tommy could focus on though was the crimson stain on the collar of the fabric. “All we ever do is work. Let’s do something exciting for a change!”<br/>
</p><p> It was almost disappointing to watch Wilbur’s smile fade once he realized that Tommy wasn’t joining in on his excitement. But maybe now he realized that Tommy wasn’t in the mood for fun. How was he expected to have fun when he needed to survive out here? Wilbur kept him company, but it wasn’t as though the ghost could actually do anything to keep him alive. He couldn’t defend Tommy in any way. For the first time in years, he was all alone and defending himself. He was the only one he could depend on anymore.</p><p> Thus he didn’t have the time for Wilbur’s antics. He needed wood to be able to cook the sparse amount of fish he’d caught and he’d have to craft more weapons as well considering everything he had kept breaking so easily. There was no time to stop and enjoy himself the way Wilbur wanted and the sooner the ghost realized that, the better.<br/>
</p><p> He scowled up at the translucent figure, watching the man start to frown. He took Wilbur’s silence for understanding. “Thank you. Now can you please stop talking so I can finish this? If you’re so bored, you’re welcome to leave any time now.”</p><p> He started walking again, making his way towards the next tree to chop that one as well.</p><p> “Do you want me to leave, Tommy?”</p><p> The words felt like cold water washing over him. He faltered slightly in his pace, but he quickly caught himself. He regained his composure and drew his ax as if nothing happened. “What? I-I didn’t,” he coughed, “I didn’t say that. I’m just saying if you’re so bored, you should go do something about it instead of talking my ear off. You’re a very annoying ghost, you know?”</p><p> The blond tried to pretend as though he couldn’t feel Wilbur’s eyes on him. He wasn’t sure if it was even fully possible to feel an undead person’s gaze, but he wasn’t even sure if Wilbur was truly there to begin with. If it was all in his mind anyway, it wasn’t impossible that he was making up that too.</p><p> Regardless, the ghost stared holes into his back. Several beats passed before Wilbur breathed out and spoke again, “Alright. I’ll look around for my own fun, but I won’t go far.”</p><p> The words brought Tommy far too much comfort. Hearing Wilbur’s promise, the tension in his shoulders subsided and he found himself breathing easier again. It was dreadful how much he’d come to rely on Wilbur to be there with him. He wasn’t even sure if Wilbur wasn’t a figment of his imagination, but he’d come to rely so heavily on the ghost that he wasn’t sure what he’d do without him there.</p><p> If he disappeared, then Tommy would be officially alone.</p><p> God, he didn’t want to be alone.</p><p> His ax finally broke on the last swing. Luckily, he’d been able to fully chop down the tree before it shattered to pieces.</p><p> He looked on at the splintered pieces in disappointment. Well at least he’d gotten his job done. Bending down, he gathered up the final set of logs and prepared to make the long walk back.</p><p> He could see the sun beginning to descend between the cracks in the trees, which meant they’d need to make it back quickly.</p><p> Wilbur had wandered off after their talk. He hadn’t seen where the ghost had gone. Looking around, he tried to search for the transparent yellow sweater.</p><p> When he didn’t immediately spot the man, he could feel a cold spike of panic rise in his chest.</p><p> “Wilbur?” he called out.</p><p> There was no immediate response, causing the anxious feeling to increase. Tommy swallowed back the fear, reminding himself that Wilbur likely just wandered off a bit farther than usual. He’d just need to look around is all.</p><p> “Wilbur? Where’d you go? I’m ready to go home now,” Tommy called again, taking a few steps forward while looking around. He glanced around the plethora of trees, but he didn’t see a hint of Wilbur around.</p><p> He could feel his dread growing. His feet started to move faster. Chuckling to try to hide his fear, he kept talking. “This isn’t funny. Come on out already. I’m getting tired.” He could hear his voice starting to grow higher, much like it often did when he got nervous. Why couldn’t he find Wilbur?</p><p> There was no way that the ghost took him seriously earlier. He had to know Tommy didn’t actually mean it. Of course he wanted him to stay. Wilbur had to know that. Even though he didn’t remember everything about all they’ve been through, the other still knew Tommy well enough to know not to take him seriously in moments like that. Tommy was simply trying to stay focused was all. Sure, he called Wilbur annoying, but that was normal. He still wanted him to stay around.</p><p> He kept searching and now he was starting to genuinely worry. Checking behind trees, he practically combed the entire area only to find no sign of the other.</p><p> “Wilbur?!” he yelled. His blue eyes wildly searched the woods around him, hoping maybe he’d just missed him. “Come out! I swear if you’re hiding, this isn’t funny, okay?! Please come out here so we can go home already!”</p><p> It was getting harder to breathe. Oh god, he was truly alone out here, wasn’t he? Where the hell was Wilbur?</p><p> The ghost had promised him he’d stay. He swore he’d stay there to take care of Tommy. So where was he? He couldn’t have disappeared. He said that he’d be there for as long as Tommy needed him. He still very much needed him, otherwise Tommy wasn’t sure how long he could keep this up.</p><p> He couldn’t do this alone.</p><p> He’d already lost everyone. Tubbo, Fundy, Quackity-- he’d lost Wilbur as well. He couldn’t lose him twice.</p><p> “Wilbur, please!” He could hear his voice crack, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Warmth started to radiate behind his eyes. “Come out already! Where’d you go?! Please, I can’t-- Ah!”</p><p> A shadow descended over the boy. Tommy stumbled backwards with a screech, falling down harshly onto the grass. He landed on his back, groaning at the sudden pain.</p><p> Opening his eyes, he blinked up at the sky, watching as it came back into focus. A second passed before a familiar pale face entered his view.</p><p> “What are you doing down there, silly!” Wilbur grinned down at him, floating above the fallen boy. He hovered backwards as Tommy shoved himself to sit up again.</p><p> “Wilbur! You’re back! I--!” The boy cut himself off as he realized that the large shadow casting over him belonged to a specific figure.</p><p> “Wilbur? I think you need to get your eyes checked, Tommy.”</p><p> Tommy could feel his stomach sink. Of all the people to find him, this was by far his last choice.</p><p> There upon a large brown horse sat Technoblade in all his regal glory. The half-man smirked behind his pig skull mask that worked to hide those blazing red eyes that had left many with nightmares. He had changed his style since Tommy had last seen him. His crimson red cape had been traded in for a much shorter white one trimmed in gold. His pure white, ruffled top had been replaced as well by a baby blue button-up that matched his jeans.</p><p> The cool color palette was surprisingly nice. However, the sight of Technoblade himself was not.</p><p> Tommy scowled, “Oh no. It’s you.”</p><p> Technoblade’s smirk only widened further, “Good to see you too, Theseus. I see you’ve been doing well. How’s that new government treating you?”</p><p> “What the hell are you doing here, Blade?” Tommy responded, ignoring Technoblade’s teasing words. He pushed himself back to his feet, dusting himself off. Once he was settled, he drew his sword, though he wasn’t that sure how well a stone sword would do against netherite.</p><p> “Oh, you know. Just came to see how my favorite brother was doing,” Techno responded. His words made Tommy’s blood boil and suddenly attempting to stab the other anyway was looking awfully tempting. “Phil and I heard you’d been exiled. I got some news from an undisclosed source where you’d be, so I thought I’d come laugh.”</p><p> Now Tommy definitely wanted to try his luck. His one life be damned. He wouldn’t dare stand by and let Technoblade laugh at his expense. Gripping the hilt of his sword, he stepped forward. “Who the hell do you think you are coming here to laugh at me?! Come down here! I’ll give you something to laugh about, you stupid pig! You’re such an asshole! I’ll kill you right here!”</p><p> His threats did nothing, which only served to piss him off further. Techno only laughed harder at him. “Oh, really? You sure you want to do that, Tommy? I’m not even wearing armor right now. You really want to try to defeat me?”</p><p> “Of course I do!” Tommy instantly responded, practically steaming. “How dare you come here to laugh at me! Get down here right now and fight me! I swear, I’ll attack your horse first if I have to!”</p><p> Snickering, Technoblade didn’t even bother to look remotely bothered by the teen swinging a blade angrily up at him. “Yeah, yeah. If you kill my horse, I’ll actually have to fight you. But in all seriousness, Phil wanted me to check on you. I tried to tell him I was the last person you wanted to see, but he insisted. He was like ‘Oh, Technoblade, you should go check on Tommy. Go check on Tommy, he’s probably all alone and hurt! You should care about him because he’s your brother even though he’s going to curse you out again for doing exactly what you said you wanted to do for years! Please, Techno!’”</p><p> Tommy had to stop himself from laughing at Techno’s awful Phil impersonation. It didn’t sound even remotely like Phil. Much like all Techno’s imitations, it was just a high-pitched version of Techno’s own voice. He didn’t bother to imitate the accent at all.</p><p> The older unfortunately saw the quirk in Tommy’s lips before the other could stop himself. Coughing to mask the slight laugh he gave, Tommy steeled himself once more. “Well tell him I’m fine, alright? And I don’t need either of your pity. I’m still pissed at you. You betrayed me.”</p><p> “Right, I betrayed you.” He could practically feel Techno rolling his eyes behind the mask. “I betrayed you by doing the one thing I told you I was going to do. But sure, make me out to be the bad guy.”</p><p> “You are the bad guy!” Tommy shouted back. He caught himself before he could continue, gritting his teeth. Flicking his hand, he forced his sword to disappear and turned on his heel to leave. “Just forget it! I’m fine, alright?! I’m doing just great on my own, so go tell Phil to stop worrying about it! You two can go back to doing whatever you two are doing out there!”</p><p> From the corner of his eye, he could see Wilbur frowning. The ghost floated after him, “Wait, Tommy. Where are you going? I thought we wanted company?”</p><p> “Not his company!” Tommy growled back.</p><p> He heard the sound of Technoblade’s horse galloping behind him. “Look, I’m just gonna ignore that you’re talking to yourself. See, I came all the way out here and I’m gonna be honest, Phil wanted me to do more than check on you. I mean, really, Tommy, you can’t seriously be okay with living alone out here.”</p><p> Tommy groaned, clenching his fists at his sides. “I am too! I’m more than okay with it actually! I’m actually living quite nicely on my own! I don’t need anyone, got it?! And certainly not you!”</p><p> “But you still need me, right?” Wilbur asked, blinking back at him with honest curiosity. Tommy chose to ignore him for now. The last thing he needed was Technoblade to think that he’s going nuts out here. The subject was surely up for debate, but Techno didn’t need to know that.</p><p> The older sighed, “If you say so. I think I should let you know Phil and I set up a house up in the north and something tells me that he doesn’t want that spare room to stay empty. So if you weren’t okay with being on your own, I guess it could be an option.”</p><p> “I don’t need your pity offers,” Tommy huffed. His makeshift house was insight. It wasn’t much. It was only a small wooden shack, but it served its purpose for now. He marched towards the door, slamming it behind him. He could almost hear Phil now chastising him for his poor manners, but he really couldn’t care less. If anything, Techno deserved a lot more than a door slammed in his face.</p><p> Wilbur phased through the door with that same frown on his face. Tommy didn’t pay him any mind as he paced the floor irritably. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be excited.”</p><p> “Of course I’m not excited! That’s Techno!” Tommy exclaimed, gesturing towards the door. “The man who killed Tubbo?! He betrayed us, don’t you remember that?!”</p><p> He should have expected the answer to that. If the way Wilbur’s brows furrowed told him anything, the spirit didn’t remember anything about Technoblade’s betrayal. Tommy supposes he shouldn’t be surprised. Wilbur had met his unfortunate end by the time Techno called upon the Withers, so it wasn’t terribly surprising. But he had hoped that maybe he recalled other memories, such as Tubbo’s execution.</p><p> Hope hadn’t been doing him much good lately.</p><p> “I don’t,” Wilbur said carefully. He appeared genuinely apologetic at the lack of knowledge. It was frustrating, but Tommy couldn’t seem to fault him entirely. Wilbur was clearly trying for his sake, which was more than he could ask for right now. “I don’t remember Techno ever betraying us actually… But he’s still Techno! I don’t think Techno would really betray us!”</p><p> “Oh, but he did!” Tommy argued back, feeling the flames of anger flaring in his chest. The wood floors creaked as he stomped back and forth across the single room making up his tiny home. “Maybe you don’t remember it, but he did! He betrayed all of us! You, me, Tubbo-- everyone! He killed Tubbo!”</p><p> The ghost didn’t seem to believe him. He was wearing that same innocent, infuriating smile that made Tommy want to smash his head into a wall. “Ah, come on now! Techno wouldn’t do that to us! He cares about us!”</p><p> Tommy wanted to scream. He gripped his hair, tugging hard at the blond strands until it hurt. “BUT HE DID! Maybe you don’t remember that, but I do, Wilbur!” He rounded on the ghost, releasing his tufts of hair and paying no mind to the few loose strands he’d pulled. “He betrayed us! He killed Tubbo and then he spawned his stupid Withers and nearly killed everyone else! And you know what’s worse than that?! He left! Of course I didn’t want to see his dumb face anyway, but he left us, Wilbur! You died and him and Phil just packed up and left! And now they think they can change their minds and I’m just going to go along with it?! No way! I’m not doing it!”</p><p> Growling, he spun back on his heel to continue his pacing. Wilbur floated in the corner of the room, frowning at him, but Tommy was far beyond caring whether he was concerned or not. Of course he missed Phil. He missed his dad, but who were they to think Tommy could forgive them after all they’ve done? Where was Phil all those months ago he needed him? All those days he was forced to watch his own brother, the man he looked up to most, descend into madness.</p><p> Where was Phil when Technoblade decided that he’d turn the crossbow on Tommy’s best friend or all people?</p><p> And to rub salt in the wound, Phil didn’t bother to even stick around long enough to see his youngest son exiled. It took him weeks to even find out. So for Technoblade to come searching for him now, asking him to come back with him like Tommy’s so desperate that he’d willingly agree and forget how much they’ve wronged him, it was like a smack in the face. Neither of them really cared about him. He’d be shocked if they ever cared about him in the first place.</p><p> Maybe Phil did once, but it wasn’t as if mattered anymore. The man abandoned him when he needed him most and joined Technoblade of all people. As far as he was aware, he didn’t have any family now. He was really back to square one, wasn’t he? Just a lonely orphan scrounging for food without anything to his name.</p><p> He’d be luckier for Technoblade to just end him already.</p><p> A knock on the door drew him from his thoughts. He could feel the rage boiling up once again. He snarled, stomping over towards the door and yanked it open, “Fuck off already!”</p><p> Tommy was ready to unleash a slew of curses towards the older man. As he lifted his gaze though, he found himself meeting a solemn set of red eyes. He was taken back by the sight of his brother’s bare face, but he set his jaw, glowering up at the other. He gripped the handle of his door tight, feeling the cool stone dig into his palm. “Well? I told you to get out of here. Leave.”</p><p> Technoblade had yet to move. The half-piglin man held his mask in one hand. Tommy knew him well enough to know if he looked down, he’d see him fidgeting with the ridges. Oh, if all those people that feared the mere mention of his brother’s name were to know how truly anxious the man was. It was almost ironic, if he thought about it. Fortunately, he didn’t care to think about it though because he didn’t want to spare a single thought of the bastard.</p><p> “Tommy,” the older began and Tommy had to stop himself from laughing at his brother’s expense. He was struggling to even speak. And to think he had given Tommy such a huge speech all those weeks back too. It was pretty satisfying to see him choking on his words now, Tommy had to admit. “I know you’re angry at me.” This time, Tommy did scoff. Angry didn’t begin to describe what he was feeling. “Look, I would have been here a lot sooner, but Phil and I just found out you got exiled a few days ago. I know you don’t believe me, Tommy, but we don’t want you to stay alone out here. Phil’s been worried about you.”</p><p> Tommy let out a loud laugh. “Phil’s worried about me?! Well you can tell Phil to go to hell. I didn’t see him worrying about me several weeks ago.”</p><p> Technoblade frowned some, “Tommy, you don’t understand--.”</p><p> “Oh, I think I understand pretty well actually,” Tommy stated, cutting the man off. “Why don’t you go back home to Phil, huh? I guess it’s clear now who’s the favorite. You know, Wil and I always had a feeling, but I guess it’s clearer than ever.”</p><p> He could see the hint of hurt in the pink-haired man’s eyes, but he couldn’t be bothered to care. What was one pang of hurt compared to all the hurt the other had caused him in the past months?</p><p> “Tommy, you can’t really think that. That isn’t true,” Techno tried to argue, but the blond cut him off again.</p><p> He was grinning wide, but there it was all gritted teeth. “Yeah? Then tell me, Techno? After Wilbur’s funeral, who did Phil stay with? Me or you? Now we both know that I can take care of myself, but I think that’s pretty telling. So why don’t you run on home to your cozy house with Phil and leave me alone.”</p><p> He moved to close the door, but Techno caught it before he could. The man huffed around his tusks, “Tommy, I’m not leaving.”</p><p> Tommy growled, trying to shove the other out, “Why not?! Just leave already! I told you, I’m fine on my own! I don’t need your damn help!”</p><p> Technoblade appeared to be growing fed up with him fast. With an annoyed roll of his eyes, he shoved back and easily overtook Tommy. The teen ended up losing his balance, stumbling back a few steps. The halfling sighed, stepping further into the pitiful excuse for a home. “I told you I wasn’t leaving.” He glanced around the room, taking in the few items Tommy had left. “You’re really choosing to stay here? This is just sad.”</p><p> The tips of his ears went bright red. He steadied himself, straightened out his bandana with a scoff. It was true that he didn’t have much. All that he had was a single chest, his bed, and a furnace. There wasn’t much in the chest aside from the essentials, such as wood, stone, and food. He didn’t even have a set of armor yet, nor any tools made of anything but stone. To someone like Techno, he must look downright pathetic. “Piss off. I’m getting more stuff soon. I’m just not done mining yet, but when I do, I’m going to make this place look way better wherever you live, asshole.”</p><p> Techno crossed the room, opening the chest. Wilbur, who had been idly floating above it, moved out of the way, taking up residence above the furnace instead. “Tommy, this is downright pitiful. You don’t even have <em>iron</em>. You wouldn’t even be worth robbing right now. Do you know how sad that is? To not even be worth looting? I thought you’ve been here for weeks?”</p><p> He turned even redder by the second. “Shut up! I’m not that poor! And what about it? I’ve been busy building my house. I think I’ve done quite a lot if you think about it.”</p><p> “Tommy, you’ve built a single bedroom,” Techno pointed out to him. There was a glimmer of concern in his eyes that Tommy didn’t like. “This is, like, the bare minimum of stuff you can do in several weeks. This can’t seriously be all you’ve done.”</p><p> The boy scoffed, “No! No, of course not! I’ve done a lot of things actually! I’ve been mining and hunting and fishing! And considering the fact that Dream took everything I had, I think I’m doing pretty good so far!”</p><p> “No, no. I think he has a point,” Wilbur spoke up. He hovered over to his side, “You should tell him about the crying! We did a lot of crying too! I think he’ll be really impressed if you tell him that we did all this with all those scheduled hours of crying we put in.”</p><p> He ignored the ghost’s “helpful” suggestion. There wasn’t a chance in hell he would ever tell Techno he cried. It was bad enough Wilbur had to see him do it. He wasn’t going to let his other brother know about it too.</p><p> Technoblade was still staring at him with that weird look in his eye. It was starting to make Tommy’s skin crawl. “Dream really took everything from you. I’m not even seeing an ender chest here. Did he let you take anything?”</p><p> “Of course not,” Tommy huffed. “That green bastard wouldn’t even let me have armor. All he gave me was a bed and some food. Not even good food either! How am I supposed to survive on carrots? Do I look like a fucking vegetarian to you?”</p><p> The taller sniffed, closing the chest again, “Hmph… No, I guess not. I guess that means you haven’t had a real meal in weeks either.”</p><p> “Maybe? What’s it matter to you?” Tommy asked, narrowing his eyes back at the man.</p><p> “Want some dinner?”</p><p> *** *** *** ***</p><p> An hour later, Tommy found himself sitting across a campfire from Technoblade with a bowl in hand. When the man had asked him about dinner, he hadn’t actually expected him to make him food. Apparently Techno meant it though. Before long, he’d made both of them stew.</p><p> If he was being honest, it felt nice to have a hot meal again. Some nights, he managed to get up the energy to cook himself something on the campfire. He’d cooked fish and other animals he’d found, but he hadn’t been eating as often these days. If it weren’t for Wilbur, he might have forgotten to eat at all some nights. He only cooked things on the fire because Wilbur would insist, telling him all about how fun it would be to sit by the campfire together. It would feel like they’re just camping.</p><p> He’d then insist on telling stories and occasionally, he’d sing Tommy a few songs to fill the silence. Even with Wilbur’s voice being scratchier than it used to be, he still found the sound of his singing soothing, so he’d let him sing as long as he liked until Tommy could hardly keep his eyes open.</p><p> The said spirit was sitting (or as close as a ghost could be to sitting) on the log between him and Techno. Tommy could hear him humming. He was obviously enjoying Techno’s company. Even though Tommy couldn’t bring himself to agree, he had to admit that it was nice to see Wilbur relaxed for a reason that made sense for once.</p><p> He lowered his bowl into his lap. There was still a fair amount of stew left, but he was already full enough. Hopefully the other wouldn’t draw attention to it.</p><p> Wilbur seemed to notice he’d finished. The brunette offered him a pleasant smile. “Ah, you finished. Don’t forget to tell Techno thank you for the meal.”</p><p> Tommy scowled a bit at that. Glancing up at Technoblade, he noticed the man hadn’t finished eating yet. He waited until he was certain the other was distracted by finishing off his bowl to speak. “I don’t want to tell him thank you, Wilbur,” he muttered under his breath.</p><p> “Tommy,” Wilbur said, using that disappointed tone that he sometimes did when Tommy wouldn’t listen. “He went through all this trouble to make you food. The least you can do is say thank you.”</p><p> As much as he wanted to argue that he didn’t ask Techno to make him anything, he found himself unable to without bringing attention to himself. He bit back an annoyed groan. Rolling his eyes, he heaved out a sigh and raised his volume just enough to be heard, “Thank you for the meal, Techno…”</p><p> His brother startled slightly at his words. Lowering his own bowl, Techno raised a brow back at him. “Uh… You’re welcome? Wow, I didn’t think you even knew those words.”</p><p> Tommy could feel embarrassment wash over him. Damn Wilbur for making him say that. He gripped the bowl in his hands a bit tighter, “Yeah, well, I do. And now I won’t be saying them ever again, you ungrateful bitch.”</p><p> His insult only served to humor Techno. The half-piglin’s lips quirked up in a half-smirk, “You’re welcome, Tommy. You know, I can make you dinner like this more often. I bet your diet of fish and carrots probably sucked.”</p><p> He could already sense what Technoblade was implying. As if he’d really be that easy to sway. He scoffed, “I eat other things too! I even found a pig wandering around the other day. I almost felt bad about killing your kind, but then I thought ‘what the hell’! Because if you really cared about them getting eaten, you should really stop letting them wander around everywhere.”</p><p> Techno shook his head, the familiar joke not phasing him in the least. “The only way I could ever do that would be if I started a pig rebellion. Do you really want me to start up an entire movement based on pigs? We both know I could do it.”</p><p> Tommy didn’t doubt him. He huffed, putting down his bowl on the log beside him. The sun had abandoned them not long ago. The last shreds of sunlight could be seen over the horizon and darkness was taking over. A few stars could already be seen shining.</p><p> It wouldn’t be long before creatures began arriving. The realization that Techno might end up staying overnight began to dawn on him.</p><p> Wilbur seemed to draw the same conclusion. He hovered over to Tommy’s side with an enthusiastic smile, “Isn’t this great, Tommy? This is just like old times! You should ask him if he’s staying the night. We could have a sleepover! We haven’t slept under the same roof in years!”</p><p> That wasn’t true, but he couldn’t bring himself to correct Wilbur. The spirit was so honestly excited that he would have felt bad reminding him of his faulty memories. It had actually only been several months since they stayed together under the same roof.</p><p> One night in particular came to mind. It was the night after they had brought Technoblade back with them to Pogtopia. They had gone on a long journey in search of their brother, but with Phil’s letters in hands offering them directions, they were able to find him. At the time, they needed all the help they could get. After a lot of convincing, they managed to talk Techno into leaving his potato farm to join their rebellion.</p><p> He had felt so safe back then with both his brothers at his side. He could remember Wilbur and Techno sitting at the table, a map between them as Wilbur told Technoblade all his plans to overthrow Schlatt. Tommy had sprawled out on the couch nearby, listening to them discuss their ideas. As they talked, their voices had lulled Tommy into a gentle sleep.</p><p> For the first time since Dream’s attack an entire year ago at that point, he was able to sleep peacefully. He was able to close his eyes without needing the security of a weapon hidden under his pillow. He didn’t need to fear being woken up in the middle of the night to an intruder holding a knife to his throat because he’d let his guard down.</p><p> For the first time in a long time, he had felt safe because he had family there to protect him. He could finally rest easy because he knew they would keep him safe.</p><p> He almost wished he could have warned his past self not to get his hopes up. That sense of security was just a lie.</p><p> His lips curled into a scowl.</p><p> Techno seemed to catch onto his change of demeanor. He sighed, setting his own bowl aside. Unlike Tommy’s own, he didn’t have a single drop left. “I’m still putting the offer on the table. I’m not going to force you to come with me.”</p><p> Tommy huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. The temperature was starting to lower without the sun’s warmth. Wilbur had tried asking him far too many times now if he had a sweater of his own to wear. He didn’t even have a spare set of clothes with him.</p><p> It was a wonder how he didn’t get sick those first few days. during the rain. He spent almost an entire day in wet clothes after his arrival. It had been raining when Dream brought him here. His clothes had been thoroughly soaked. Wilbur, his existence unbeknownst to the green man, had tried to suggest for him to bum a coat off of the “nice man”, but he refused.</p><p> Dream had caused him enough trouble as it was. He wasn’t about to ask for pity offers from the man. Hell, he’d nearly broken what little Dream had given him because he wouldn’t dare take handouts from the very asshole that had ruined his life. The only reason he hadn’t smashed the chest was because Wilbur stopped him before he could.</p><p> After Dream left, he spent an entire day in that shack, listening to the rain pound against the faulty roof and the occasional drip hit the floor. He had paced and yelled and screamed until he couldn’t anymore. When his throat was too hoarse to go on, he had fallen back onto the bed without a care if it got wet from his damp clothes.</p><p> The rain didn’t stop until a day later. He had stopped shivering by then. He remembered silently trekking out to complete his first task of washing his clothes in the ocean.</p><p> He blinked away the memory to notice Techno was staring at him. He realized after a second the man was still expecting an answer.</p><p> Clearing his throat, he averted his eyes towards the fire, “I’ve already told you no and I’m not changing my mind. You can tell Phil I’ll be fine on my own.”</p><p> It was clear that the other didn’t believe him, but Tommy was grateful to see he wasn’t pushing the subject any further. Instead, Techno shrugged and dropped his own gaze to the fire, “Fine. If you’re sure that’s what you want, I will. I’ll head back to Phil tomorrow.”</p><p> “You’re staying?” Tommy found himself asking.</p><p> Techno arched a brow back at him, “You didn’t expect me to leave this late, did you? I can find my way back home, but we both know that it’d be a pain to navigate past all the skeletons.”</p><p> Tommy felt stupid for asking. It was pretty obvious now that he thought about it. He shrugged his shoulders, dropping his gaze back to the flames, “I was just asking. I wasn’t expecting you to stay the night.”</p><p> “Do you want me to leave, Tommy?”</p><p> It was a genuine question, he realized. He lifted his head again to meet Techno’s eyes. The skull mask had yet to make a reappearance after earlier and Tommy couldn’t help being grateful for it. It was painful to have your own brothers become the subject of your nightmares, but the lack of mask helped cull the uneasy feeling in his gut.</p><p> He took a moment to think over his answer. The question was reminiscent of Wilbur’s earlier. As much as Tommy feared being alone, he couldn’t yet put his anger and hurt aside. But he’d be lying if he said it didn’t feel nice to pretend that everything was fine and they were back in Pogtopia before the festival was even thought of and Wilbur hadn’t yet to spiral.</p><p> Again, he shrugged, dropping his gaze once more. “I don’t know… I’m still not okay about you coming here.”</p><p> Techno did him a favor and only hummed, taking his response as it was. Both of them knew what he meant. That wasn’t a no. While he hadn’t forgived his brother yet, he wasn’t telling him to leave, but the ice could cave at any minute.</p><p> If Techno were to push too much, he would easily change his mind. The unsteady ground beneath them would shatter and it would be hard to tread back to shore. But maybe if they were to stay still long enough, the ice would stay and they could navigate towards thicker sections until they safely found their way back.</p><p> Though Tommy didn’t have any hope for that. He kept expecting that the ice would break at any second and Techno would leave him to drown. It was good that he’d been getting used to the cold.</p><p> They stayed in relative silence after that. Wilbur had gone back to humming, which Tommy was glad for. He didn’t think he could handle getting asked a bunch of nonsensical questions to somehow pass onto Techno without the other catching onto him talking to someone else.</p><p> It was fully night by the way Techno moved. He grabbed his bowl and held his hand out for Tommy’s to start putting them away. Tommy passed it to him without a word.</p><p> They cleaned up what little mess there was and Techno put out the fire before they moved inside. As they stepped into the tiny home, Techno glanced around, “It’s freezing in here. Didn’t you say you built this place? I know we taught you how to fix drafts.”</p><p> Tommy had noticed the draft. The tiny shack was always cold at night, but he had stopped caring as he grew accustomed to the chill. Shrugging his shoulders, he moved to light a few more torches, “It’s not that cold.”</p><p> “Sure…” Technoblade drew out the word, clearly unconvinced, but Tommy paid him no mind. He crossed the room in a mere few steps over to Tommy’s crafting table. “My house is in the North where there’s snow. If you like the cold, you could come see it? Not tomorrow, but in the future. If you want to, you don’t have to.”</p><p> Tommy focused on removing his shoes. The holes in the soles were growing by the day. He was sure that they would hold for another several months, but they didn’t do much more than add a thin barrier of protection to his feet. It was better than nothing though. “I’ll think about it. Don’t get your hopes up though. I don’t feel too keen on seeing you or Phil any time soon after you go home tomorrow.”</p><p> “Tommy…” Techno sighed. He finished his craft, spawning a chair and a small table that he set down on the floor in the little space left for the items. For a moment, Tommy almost thought he would craft a bed, but he should have known better than to expect Techno to actually sleep. Tommy had seen him go entire days without rest, a habit that none of them ever approved of.</p><p> He was never able to sleep in new places either until he was comfortable enough. It was a precaution that Tommy himself began to understand after his first death from Dream and he became aware of his own mortality at far too young an age. Techno was always on edge, expecting danger around every corner because he knew that there were many people that would love to take him down the second he let down his guard. Before his first death, he hadn’t understood his fears, but now he knew them all too well.</p><p> Techno sat down in the chair. He took the crown from his head, setting it down on the table in front of him. He brushed a few fallen hairs from his face. “I told you I’m not forcing you to come with me, but you can’t really be happy here.”</p><p> Tommy rolled his eyes, pulling up the blanket of his bed to get in. It was too early for sleep, but if it meant ending any chances of having this conversation again, he would take it. “I’m fine. I’m going to sleep, so try not to be too loud with whatever you actually do for fun.”</p><p> Technoblade, once again, didn’t push. Tommy turned to face the wall. He didn’t need to look to know Techno had likely pulled out a book to read instead.</p><p> Wilbur clicked his tongue, causing Tommy’s eyes to flicker towards the end of his bed. The ghost was sitting at the foot of it, staring forward at Techno, “You know, Tommy, he seems like he’s genuinely trying to make it up to you for whatever you think he did. Maybe you should give him a chance.”</p><p> Even if he could have responded, he didn’t even want to dignify that with an answer. He glared at the wall in front of him instead.</p><p> “Really, I mean it. We both know Techno’s never been the best with feelings, but look at him.” Wilbur gestured at their brother, sitting silently at the table, already absorbed in whatever book he had found this time. “He made you dinner and he’s been nice to you by offering you a home. He hasn’t even tried to tease you since he got here. I think he’s really trying to help.”</p><p> He rolled his eyes, burrowing further down into the warmth of his blanket in hopes Wilbur might get the message.</p><p> “I mean it!” Wilbur continued, taking his silence for an answer, but not in the way Tommy hoped. “I think we should go with them! Wouldn’t it be nice to see Phil again? I know you said they were mean to you, but I think we should give them another chance! Why would else Techno come all the way out here if they didn’t care?”</p><p> <em>Because he hasn’t successfully ruined Tommy’s life enough obviously</em>, Tommy thought to himself.</p><p> “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m going to say it was probably something pretty rude,” Wilbur guessed, which was close enough. “But no! Because he cares about you! And they really want you to come home with them. I say we should give them another chance! It could be just like we were little! You, me, Techno, and Phil all together again! Wouldn’t that be nice?”</p><p> <em>But there’s only one problem with that</em>, he thought back, <em>you’re not even here.</em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Thank you for reading!</p><p>I'm thinking about writing more of this, so please let me know if you like it! I'm thinking of doing up to three or more chapters depending on how things go. Also I have lots of ideas for younger Techno, Wilbur, and Tommy learning to get along after each of them get adopted by Philza, so please let me know if you want one-shots for backstory on anyone.<br/>Please leave comments! This is my first work for MCYT, so I'm hoping I got everyone right, but I'd love some feedback and if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them!<br/>Have a great day!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry for taking a while! Unfortunately finals and life got in the way and put me a few days behind, but I'm back at last!</p><p> Thank you guys for so much positive support on the last chapter! It really meant the world to me and it made my day reading things like "fucking poggers". I can't express how amazing and hilarious that was to see!</p><p>Anyway, here we go again, my dudes! We're back with the boys. I really hope you guys enjoy this!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Tommy woke up that next morning, he noticed an additional lightweight over his shoulders. Furrowing his brows, he nuzzled his face further into his threadbare pillow, tugging his blanket up to his cheek. Soft fur brushed against his nose, which was weird, but not an unwelcome surprise. But since when did he own a fur blanket?</p><p> He forced his eyes to open, even if truthfully he wanted another few hours of sleep. He knew though that he couldn’t sleep the day away if he wanted to get anything done.</p><p> Yawning, Tommy pushed himself to sit up before he changed his mind. Rubbing his eyes, he looked down to see where his blankets had fallen in his lap. On top of the thin red blanket he had, there was a familiar white, fur-trimmed cape.</p><p> What the hell?</p><p> “Oh, you’re finally awake. Took you long enough.”</p><p> Tommy turned his head to see Technoblade sitting in the same place he left him last night. The older was closing his book, easily storing it away in his inventory and out of sight.</p><p> He had to admit, he wasn’t expecting to see Techno still there when he woke up. After last night, he figured the other would disappear as soon as morning light broke.  He couldn’t decide yet if he was happy or not that he stayed.</p><p> “Good morning, sleepyhead!” Wilbur cheerfully greeted. The ghost flew above their heads, skimming the ceiling and grinning down at his little brother. “We’ve been waiting for you to wake up!”</p><p> “Did you give me your cape?” Tommy asked, carefully picking up the article between his forefingers as if it offended him.</p><p> Techno shrugged his shoulders, “You looked cold. You started shivering last night and we both know Phil would kill me if I let you get sick the <em>one day</em> I was here. But if you really hate it, I’ll let you freeze next time.”</p><p> Tommy scowled back at him. Huffing, he pushed his blankets aside to get up. As much as he didn’t want to say it, Techno’s cape was surprisingly warm, even if it wasn’t near as long and impressive as his other one. But as always, Techno had good taste in materials. He was almost tempted to steal it, but he didn’t think he needed another reminder of the pig.</p><p> He padded across the cold wood floor to drop the cape onto the table. “Hmph, whatever. Thanks for not letting me freeze, dick. This doesn’t mean I like you.”</p><p> Techno smirked, “You’re welcome, Tommy. Wow, who knew getting exiled would make you so polite? We should have thought of this years ago.”</p><p> He set his jaw. “I changed my mind. You’re a bitch. I hope you freeze in out in your stupid snow.”</p><p> “Tommy, I was kidding.” The older took the cape from the tabletop and fastened it back over his shoulders. He lifted up his hair to rest over it. Tommy could have sworn last time he saw Technoblade, his hair had been in a long braid. When free, the strands had flowed all the way down his back. Now his pink locks resided around shoulder-length. “I could leave this with you if you want?”</p><p> Tommy snorted, “No way! Why would I ever want your stupid cape? Do you want me to look dumb?”</p><p> “Do you really want me to answer that?” Techno asked, raising a brow. He reached behind his head to pull his short hair into a small ponytail. “I thought I’d offer. Did you even bring a coat with you?”</p><p> Tommy crossed his arms with a sniff, “Yeah, of course, I did! I just don’t need it yet.”</p><p> “Tommy, you went to sleep in your clothes last night. Do you even own other clothes?”</p><p> Tommy could feel his cheeks begin to heat up. Behind him, Wilbur chuckled, “Heh, he’s got you there.”</p><p> He turned his head with a huff, “Shut up. I always sleep like this. Fuck off.”</p><p> Wilbur snickered, floating up beside him, “Oh, he’s onto you, Tommy. You should take the cape. It’ll look nice! Oh, you know what? You should ask him if he has the other cape too! The two of you could match!”</p><p> He had to bite back a response. As if he’d ever want to look like Technoblade. Did he look like he wanted to mimic some pompous crown-wearing pig?</p><p> Techno didn’t look impressed by his obvious lies. “Uh-huh… Whatever you say, Tommy.” He pushed his chair back and stood up with a large stretch, “Well if you have other clothes, you should get dressed.”</p><p> “Wait. You’re leaving already?” The words escaped before he could think to clamp his mouth shut. Shit.</p><p> The halfling stopped from where he had begun approaching the door, “No? I’m making breakfast. You didn’t expect me to travel for hours on an empty stomach, did you?”</p><p> “Oh…” He felt the slight anxious feeling in his gut subside. He tried to cover it up by clearing his throat, “Maybe? It wouldn’t be the first time... I didn’t even know you knew how to make breakfast.”</p><p> Techno rolled his eyes, continuing to walk out the door, “Of course I do. I know how to cook. You don’t think I survived solely on baked potatoes all these years, do you?” Before Tommy could respond, he huffed, “Don’t answer that. Just get dressed and get out here.”</p><p> When the door closed, Wilbur let out a joyful laugh, “Well that’s awfully nice of him. I’ve never seen Technoblade make breakfast before.”</p><p> Tommy scoffed, moving to grab his socks and shoes. “I don’t trust him. I bet his idea of breakfast is probably something stupid.”</p><p> Wilbur had a point though. Whenever it used to come to breakfast, Phil was always the one to cook for them. After a while, he began letting each of them start helping out with making certain meals. But Techno always tended to sleep through breakfast due to staying up all night reading, among other various hobbies he took up during the years. Due to that, Wilbur was almost always the one to help Phil with breakfast and if Phil was busy one morning, Wilbur would usually take up the job without question.</p><p> During their time in Pogtopia, Wilbur started making them breakfast again. He would always joke about how it wasn’t much, but Phil would be proud of him for being able to even get them both up to eat in the mornings.</p><p> When he started losing himself, breakfast became a less frequent experience.</p><p> Tommy frowned at the floor, thinking about the very last time Wilbur smiled at him after waking him up. It was right before Dream arrived— right before the festival, before Wilbur’s smiles held an ulterior motive behind them.</p><p> He pushed aside his thoughts and finished tying his shoes. Reaching for his bandana, he tied the red fabric around his neck and made his way for the door.</p><p> As promised, Techno made them breakfast. It was a surprisingly nice change of pace. Tommy had reverted to eating apples and other fruits in the mornings because he never felt like making the effort to start a fire so early in the day. But Techno did it for him.</p><p> It wasn’t long before he finished his second hot meal in weeks. He tried not to let himself dwell on the fact for long. Even though it felt nice and he enjoyed the warmth it left him, he knew the feeling wouldn’t last.</p><p> Within an hour, Techno would likely be long gone and he would be on his own with Wilbur again.</p><p>They’d be back to being all alone.</p><p> “Tommy?...”</p><p> The sound of his name pulled him out of his daze. Blinking, the boy’s blue eyes refocused and found the wary face of Technoblade. The man was standing now, a few steps away from the log he’d been previously sitting on. “Huh? Yeah, what?”</p><p> “Uh, you looked like you were pretty out of it. You alright?” Techno asked. He sounded a bit hesitant for some reason.</p><p> Tommy furrowed his brows curiously in return. What was his deal? He’d just been thinking was all. He didn’t consider that a crime. But Technoblade seemed worried about something. Or rather, he almost looked worried about Tommy, which was even stranger because the teen was clearly fine. “What? What’re you looking at me like that for?”</p><p> “You’ve been staring at nothing for the past ten minutes,” Wilbur supplied helpfully. The spirit was hovering in the same spot he had last night, on the log between Tommy and Techno. He was reclined back, staring at the clouds above with a dopey smile on his face. If Tommy had to guess, he was probably smiling at the funny shapes they made.</p><p> Tommy huffed, turning his attention back to Techno. The other was still staring at him oddly. It was starting to get irritating and he considered flipping him off just to get a rise out of the older. “Well? Is there a problem?”</p><p> The half-piglin shook his head after a moment. Apparently, he’d decided whatever he was staring at wasn’t worth his time after all. “No… Nothing. I was just gonna tell you Carl’s ready to go.”</p><p> “Oh,” Tommy replied gracefully. He could feel his stomach start to sink for a reason he couldn’t understand. It wasn’t as though he wanted Techno here in the first place. He was still pissed at the man for all he’d done to him.</p><p> But why did he find himself dreading saying goodbye?</p><p> He cleared his throat, “Well you should leave. I think you’ve stayed long enough.”</p><p> “Tommy, I’m gonna ask you one more time if you want to come with me,” Techno began. “The offer’s gonna still be open after I leave, so if you wanna say no, you can change your mind. But you don’t have to stay out here.”</p><p> Tommy pursed his lips. Hadn’t he made himself clear enough already?</p><p> “You should say yes,” Wilbur told him. The ghost was sitting up now, staring back at Tommy with hopeful eyes. “Come on, think of Phil! We haven’t seen Phil in ages! Well, that’s not entirely true. I remember seeing him once a few weeks ago, but still! Wouldn’t it be nice to be together again?”</p><p> Of course, it would be nice, he thought to himself. It also would have been nice if all his family hadn’t betrayed him, but they couldn’t all get what they wanted.</p><p> He huffed, “The answer’s still no, Techno. Now run along back to Phil, will you? And tell him to quit worrying about me. The old man’s gonna give himself a heart attack.”</p><p> Techno’s lips quirked up in a slight smirk, but his eyes didn’t share the same humor. Chuckling, he drew his mask and slipped it back onto his face with ease. “Of course. Then I’ll see you later, Tommy. Don’t die out here or else.”</p><p> Tommy scoffed at the morbid joke, “Yeah, yeah! Don’t tell me what to do, bitch! I do what I want!”</p><p> His brother shook his head fondly, turning his back to Tommy to approach his horse. Within no time at all, Tommy was watching him disappear into the trees.</p><p> Wilbur frowned beside him, “Aw… I hope he comes back soon. It was nice seeing him again.”</p><p> Tommy huffed in response, “Well I don’t. I hope he never comes back, the stupid asshole.”</p><p> “You don’t mean that.”</p><p> His scowl deepened. He considered arguing back that he didn’t. He didn’t care in the slightest whether Techno left or if he ever came back. He didn’t need him.</p><p> But for some reason, he could feel the sinking feeling in his chest grow. Forcing the feeling down, he pushed himself to stand. There was no use in spending another day wasting away feeling sorry for himself over useless assholes. “Whatever… Come on. I need to make another ax.”</p><p>*** *** *** ***</p><p> Over the course of the next couple of weeks, he began to notice items starting to appear randomly.</p><p> The first time he noticed it had been the night Technoblade went home. He had just returned from a long day of mining after he couldn’t shake the other’s comment from the day before on his lack of materials. Day had run out before he found much, but he managed to find a few pieces of iron along with plenty of cobblestone. It wasn’t much, but he considered it a win nonetheless.</p><p> He was in the process of placing the items in his chest when he noticed them.</p><p> Several stacks of iron all waiting to be used.</p><p> He’d nearly choked. “<em>What the hell?!</em>”</p><p> “Something the matter, Tommy?” Wilbur floated up behind him. The ghost peered over his shoulder and let out a lower whistle, “Wow, that’s impressive. I don’t remember you finding that much iron.”</p><p> “That’s because I didn’t!” Tommy shouted back.</p><p> He gaped back down at the iron. Finally, he’d be able to make himself some worthy weapons. He could finally have iron tools that wouldn’t break after one day’s use. He could have real armor that actually protected him again! He could finally go further down in the mines and not worry about his safety because of simple creepers of all things!</p><p> It was as though an entire world of possibilities had opened back up for him.</p><p> But where did it all come from?</p><p> “Did you have something to do with this?” He leveled Wilbur with a curious look.</p><p> The spirit let out a loud laugh, “Tommy, you’ve seen my hands phase through things. You think I’d really be able to pick up a pickaxe?”</p><p> Tommy sniffed, his lip curling in agitation, “Well you don’t need to laugh about it. A simple no would have worked...” He turned his attention back to the iron, “Then where did they come from? I didn’t mine this!”</p><p> “Maybe it was Technoblade,” Wilbur suggested, already starting to break into an excited grin. “Wouldn’t that be a nice surprise?! Maybe he left you a gift!”</p><p> He didn’t want to admit that made sense. Who other than Techno had visited him recently? But even if it made sense, Tommy couldn’t shake the unpleasant feeling he got. He stared down at the iron blocks with a frown working its way onto his features. As much as Technoblade leaving him this gift felt like an attempt at a nice gesture, his stomach curled as though he was going to be sick.</p><p> Had he really sunken that low Techno felt the need to offer him pity gifts?</p><p> “Oh! Tommy, look! There’s a note!” Wilbur’s voice cut through his thoughts, yanking him back to reality. “What’s it say?”</p><p> When Tommy looked past the stacks of iron, he noticed that Wilbur was right. Resting beside the iron was a sheet of paper. He picked it up. Almost instantly, he recognized the scratchy penmanship.</p><p> “I thought you could use some iron. Consider this my contribution to the poor-- oh, that bitch!” Tommy growled, gripping the paper tight enough that it nearly ripped.</p><p> Wilbur didn’t share his outrage. Instead, the ghost laughed joyously in his ear, “Hey, I was right! It was Techno! Wasn’t that nice? Now we have iron!”</p><p> “No, it’s not nice! He called me poor!” He tossed down the letter, letting it fall to the floor, and stomped his way towards the door.</p><p> Wilbur called after him, “Wait! Tommy, where are you going?”</p><p> “Out!” He slammed the door shut behind him.</p><p> His feet led him towards the barren beachfront that resided in front of his house. With a scowl on his face, he sat down in the sand and listened to the water lap against the shore until his anger subsided.</p><p> Who was Techno to call him poor? He used to be incredibly successful with lots of amazing items to his name. He might still have them as well if Dream hadn’t insisted on burning it all and making him start from scratch. So if anything, it wasn’t even his fault he was poor. It was that mask-wearing jerk.</p><p> The source of almost all of his problems began with Dream.</p><p> But there was a small voice in the back of his mind that argued with his logic. Even though Dream had played a key role in his exile, could he really blame the man for everything? Could Tommy really sit there and pretend he was innocent?</p><p> Because if he was truly innocent, wouldn’t Tubbo have defended him?</p><p> He sat out there for a long time.</p><p> Eventually, Wilbur came to find him. Together, they sat on the sand, staring out into the pitch-black abyss until the sounds of zombies and skeletons growing closer began to make Wilbur worry for his safety.</p><p> He didn’t end up sleeping that night.</p><p> He thought about getting rid of all the iron gifted to him, but in the end, he ended up reluctantly making use of it. It wasn’t what he wanted, but he needed some armor if he ever planned on mining more to replace it. So he made himself plenty of tools and an entire set of armor and tried to forget where they came from.</p><p> He soon realized that wouldn’t be the last gift. Over the next couple of weeks, he noticed other items appearing out of nowhere.</p><p> The next one had been a coat.</p><p> The red jacket had been left hanging on the back of the chair inside his house. Again, Tommy thought about burning the item. He might have gone through with it, but Wilbur reminded him that the temperature was dropping by the day. It would be nice to have an extra layer.</p><p> Thus, he donned the coat and it soon became a part of his daily wear. He tried to tell himself that he didn’t find comfort in the faint scent of pine and spices. So what if it smelled vaguely reminiscent of his father? He was only wearing it until it warmed up again and then he would forget it ever existed.</p><p> The next item after that had been food. Several uncooked steaks, covered stews, and a few carrots were all stored safely in his chest.</p><p> He started to think about putting a lock on his door. That was the third time that Technoblade had snuck into his home without him knowing. He hadn’t even caught any sign of him, which was impressive but also infuriating.</p><p> He heated up one of the bowls of stews for his dinner that night. When Wilbur asked him about it, he told him that he was only eating it because if he didn’t, Technoblade might go tattle on him to Phil. Even if he wasn’t very fond of Phil at the moment, that didn’t mean that the thought of him being upset wasn’t annoying. And if he went to bed feeling warm that night with a full stomach, no one needed to know.</p><p> It had been officially two weeks since Techno had left when the fourth gift arrived. He’d begun to just expect to find something or another every few days. This time, it was a fur blanket.</p><p> “Isn’t this nice, Tommy?” Wilbur hummed. The ghost was reclined back over Tommy’s bed with one leg crossed to rest against his knee and his arms resting behind his head. And if he weren’t floating several feet above the bed itself, maybe he’d be doing something normal for once. “All these gifts Techno keeps leaving you? It’s really kind of him. I’m thinking you should reconsider his offer.”</p><p> “I’m not reconsidering anything, Wilbur.” He shoved the fur blanket back into his chest and slammed it shut.</p><p> He’d be damned if he let himself be bought over by Technoblade of all people. While things had gotten remotely easier for him, it didn’t mean he was ever going to forgive what he did. Every time he even thought about it, he could hear Techno’s maniacal laughter ring in his ears while he looked on at the dead body of his best friend, slumped and bloody inside the hole made for him.</p><p> And sure, his best friend had betrayed him as well, but that’s beside the point. The point is he wouldn’t be turning back to some bloodthirsty traitor over a few nice gifts.</p><p> As if sensing his thoughts, Wilbur sighed, “Tommy, this is getting ridiculous. You can’t hold a grudge forever.”</p><p> “Who says I can’t?” Tommy scoffed in return. If Wilbur truly believed that, he certainly didn’t know Tommy at all. He could hold grudges for years if he wanted to.</p><p> “Well, you shouldn’t!” Wilbur added, sitting up. “It’s Techno! Listen, he’s our brother. I just think we should give him another chance, that’s all!”</p><p> “Wilbur, I’m not—.”</p><p> Their argument was cut short by the sound of a knock. Instantly, he could feel his mood darken. Wilbur must have shared the same thought because Tommy could see him visibly brighten from the corner of his eye.</p><p> “Dammit,” Tommy grumbled. He crossed the room to the door, already preparing a slur of words to send Technoblade on his way.</p><p> He yanked the door open, “Techno, I’m not in the—.”</p><p> The words died in his throat.</p><p> A familiar porcelain mask smiled ominously back at him. “Hi, Tommy.”</p><p>*** *** *** ***</p><p> There was a saying about taking what you have for granted. But when you’ve lost everything, you stop thinking that there could possibly be more to lose.</p><p> “You can’t do this!”</p><p> But the sad truth is there’s always more.</p><p> Dream merely tilted his chin up. The mask on his face lifted just enough to expose a fraction of the devious smirk beneath. “Oh, can’t I, Tommy?”</p><p> Tommy swallowed hard.</p><p> When he saw Dream had arrived at his doorstep not long ago, he felt his heart sink. It had been over a month since he’d seen the man and he had hoped that would be the last time he’d ever see him.</p><p> He should have known not to get his hopes up.</p><p> Apparently, the man had come to see Tommy’s progress. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t impressed, but he had taken interest in Tommy’s new collection of items. Specifically, the amount of iron and other materials he’d gathered from the mine.</p><p> “Tommy, come on.” Dream grinned behind the stark white porcelain, “You know the drill. All your armor and tools. Give them here.”</p><p> “But this isn’t fair!” Tommy argued back. “This is my stuff! I put in all the work to find it! You already took them the first time!”</p><p> “It’s part of the agreement. I get to take your items any time I want and make sure you don’t get too far that you might try to portal back to L’Manburg. So hand them here.” Dream held out his hand expectantly.</p><p> Between them was a large hole where Dream had already dropped everything from Tommy’s chest. All that was left now were the items in his inventory.</p><p> “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. We both know I won’t go easy on you,” the man reminded him. Tommy knew firsthand that he was telling the truth.</p><p> He had taken all Tommy’s items from his chest before Tommy had even realized what he was doing. When he tried to stop him, Dream had shoved him aside easily. And when he kept trying, the man drew his ax and held it to Tommy’s throat.</p><p> There wasn’t much he could do after that.</p><p> “Tommy, what’s happening? Why is the nice man taking your stuff?” Wilbur asked. He didn’t spare him a look, but he knew his brother was floating somewhere behind him, likely looking more confused than ever. “Does he need items? We can give him items!”</p><p> <em>Now isn’t the time, Wilbur</em>, he thought to himself, though he couldn’t voice it out loud with Dream there.</p><p> He could feel the weight of the older boy’s eyes on him through the mask. “I’m waiting, Tommy.”</p><p> Tommy gulped. Taking a step back, he drew his sword. It wasn’t going to be much defense against Dream of all people. The man was the only one who could stand toe to toe with Technoblade of all people. The odds weren’t in his favor, but he wasn’t about to stand by and lose everything all over again. “No. No, I’m not doing it. These are my things! I worked hard to find this stuff!”</p><p> “I’m giving you one last chance, Tommy,” Dream said, drawing his own weapon. His diamond ax glittered in the fading sunlight. “Give me your stuff. I’ll let you keep your pickaxe and the food, but I want everything else. All the armor, all the iron— everything.”</p><p> He set his jaw. Drawing on all the courage that he could muster, he held his head high. He brought his sword up, gripping the hilt with both hands. “Go to hell, you green bastard.”</p><p> Dream’s smug grin widened dangerously. “Wrong move, Tommy.”</p><p>*** *** *** ***</p><p> The cold was back. He could feel the chill set deep within his bones, but it was only a dull ache. Even his coat didn’t seem to be offering him any protection against it anymore.</p><p> “Tommy?... It’s getting late. Shouldn’t we go inside now?”</p><p> Wilbur’s voice sounded faint in his ears.</p><p> Dream left almost an hour ago. At least, that’s what he assumed. He hadn’t been keeping track in all honesty. He might not have known time passed at all if it weren’t for the sun disappearing behind the horizon.</p><p> The teen sat on the cold ground, his arms wrapped loosely around his legs.</p><p> The open ground in front of him held all the ashes of Tommy’s hard work. Not only that, but there sat the remnants of his brother’s first gift to him. Even if it did come with that dumb, sarcastic note, it was something. It had been a start to something that almost began to feel nice. He was starting to feel happy again.</p><p> But now Dream had set him back to square one all over again.</p><p> And now he just felt cold.</p><p> “Tommy?”</p><p> He groaned, burying his face into his knees, “What do you <em>WANT</em>, Wilbur?! Just leave me alone!”</p><p> He could hear the ghost sigh. “Fine… I was just going to tell you there’s someone coming, but I can’t tell if it’s another person or a zombie.”</p><p> “Wait, w-what?” Tommy lifted his head. He followed Wilbur’s gaze towards the trees.</p><p> It took him a moment to see it. But soon, his eyes focused on a shadowy figure standing among the trees.</p><p> He almost dismissed it. As if he really cared about dealing with some creature right now. Odds were if it was a damn zombie, it might wander off anyway. He really didn’t have the energy to try to kill anything.</p><p> He was about to drop his head back down when he noticed it drawing closer. As it came nearer, he began to notice details becoming clearer.</p><p> Its body started to become less of a tall, shapeless shadow and more of a thinner figure with broad shoulders that almost appeared fluffy. It isn’t until it drew close enough to make out the outline of pig ears that he pieced together who it was.</p><p> Tommy muffled a groan into his knees. “Augh…! Not you again...”</p><p> “Technoblade!” Wilbur cheered at the sight of the half-piglin and hurried to his feet. He eagerly floated up to the younger male, but Technoblade only stared through him, fully unaware of the transparent body greeting him. Instead, his gaze was locked on Tommy, who was now questioning his entire life. What did he ever do to deserve this humiliation on top of everything else?</p><p> Yes, he did a few bad things. He’d insulted people, harassed a few for laughs, burnt down a house-- but that didn’t mean he deserved to be humiliated!</p><p> “You couldn’t have come at a worse time,” he muttered into his chest. Shaking his head, he lifted it to glare at the pig. “I’m already having a terrible day. So I swear if you came to laugh at me again, I will kill you. I swear I’ll do it.”</p><p> He expected to be met with one of Techno’s sarcastic quips. Maybe Techno would laugh anyway to spite him. Or rag on him for being poor and then remind Tommy of all his failures just to watch his face fall. Maybe after he’d remind Tommy that this was all his fault.</p><p> If he weren’t such a nuisance to everyone, then maybe he would have never gotten himself exiled in the first place.</p><p> Maybe he would be living back in his real home and not in a piece of shit shack in the middle of goddamn nowhere. Maybe he wouldn’t be getting harassed by Dream and getting all the stuff keeping him alive blown up for no reason other than for some sick man’s amusement.</p><p> Hell, maybe if he weren’t so annoying, his own family wouldn’t have left him at the first notice! Maybe he wouldn’t be so horribly alone all the time because no one back in L’Manburg actually liked him enough to come find him.</p><p> Maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t have to live with the awful reality that one day he might die alone out here and the only one who might ever know would be the ghost of his dead brother who couldn’t even do anything about it! Or worse, might even be excited for his death because, in Wilbur’s fractured mind, they could be ghost buddies!</p><p> Maybe if he weren’t so terrible, he’d still be happy and his best friend wouldn’t have turned against him just like everyone else in his life!</p><p> Maybe if he was a better person, he’d still have Tubbo.</p><p> He could feel heat behind his eyes, but he tried desperately to ignore the feeling because like hell did he want to cry again. He was so sick and tired of crying all the time. He just wanted to feel good again. Was that so much to ask for?</p><p> “Tommy?...”</p><p> He gripped his legs and hugged them tighter to his chest. Why was Techno even here? Couldn’t he just leave him alone?</p><p> “Tommy…” Techno’s voice was softer this time and closer now as if the other was standing in front of him.</p><p> “Techno, leave me alone…”</p><p> He could hear the older sigh. Techno sat down beside him with a grunt. “Augh… You’re so lucky I changed my wardrobe weeks ago. This would have been so annoying.”</p><p> Tommy didn’t say anything. He kept his head buried in his knees in hope that he could tune the other out.</p><p> A soft weight descended over his shoulders. He didn’t lift his head, but his eyes opened in surprise. All he could see was the fabric of his jeans. It only took a moment for him to recognize the feeling of the fur against his arms.</p><p> “You know, Tommy,” Techno began, “when I went back home a couple of weeks ago, Phil was pretty upset to see it was only me that came back. He didn’t say anything about it, but you know how Phil is. I could tell he was disappointed. And you’re probably wondering ‘well, Technoblade, if he was so upset, why didn’t he come here instead’?”</p><p> “Actually I wasn’t going to ask you anything,” Tommy grumbled in response.</p><p> Techno went on as if he hadn’t heard a word. “And I’d tell you that it’s because I told him to stay home. I told him ‘don’t worry, Phil. I’ll take care of Tommy. Even if he is an ungrateful gremlin that won’t appreciate it’.”</p><p> He turned his head enough to glare at the pig, “Hmph… Is this going somewhere? Your voice is really annoying…”</p><p> “Hush, I’m telling a story. Now, where was I?... Oh right.” The older cleared his throat, “I promised him I’d try to take care of you, right? And I knew you’d be angry about it. You didn’t want to see me. You still hate my guts for betraying you and whatever else you blame me for, but I had to do something. So I started leaving things with you. But since I knew you didn’t want to see me again so soon, I stayed out of sight.</p><p> “I almost expected you to burn everything I left behind. I expected to come back and find you chucked all the iron and stuff in the ocean and hung the jacket up like a flag and burned it to prove a point. But you didn’t, which kind of felt like progress in a weird way. It felt like we were getting somewhere.</p><p> “Which brings me to today.” Though Techno’s voice was monotonous as always, Tommy could always tell the minute changes in tone. It was hardly noticeable at all, but if you knew the differences, you could figure out what to look for. And right then, he could hear the sarcasm begin to give way to a more serious undertone. “You know, I remembered you telling me about Dream bringing you here.”</p><p> Tommy’s shoulders tensed slightly at the name, but Techno went on. “I’ll be honest, I didn’t think much about it because I’d gotten the impression that’d be the last time he’d come back here. So when I came back a few minutes ago to check to make sure you didn’t decide to burn the blanket I left here, I didn’t expect to find my brother crying and see Dream already halfway out to sea.</p><p> “I was very tempted to shoot him, but then I remembered ‘Oh, right. I know where that guy lives. I can go attack him any time.’ But what I can’t do is leave my brother crying on a beach in the freezing cold after losing what looks like everything he had.”</p><p> “I wasn’t crying,” Tommy mumbled, rubbing his cheek with the back of his hand just to make sure. He cursed when he felt a hint of wetness. Dammit, no! He could have sworn that he wasn’t crying!</p><p> Technoblade heaved out another sigh, “Tommy… Listen, the point is that you don’t have to deal with this. I know you’re angry with me and that’s fine, you can hate me all you want. Hate Phil all you want, that’s fine. But at the end of the day, Tommy, we don’t like seeing you live like this. So I’m gonna ask you again, do you want to stay here alone in a crappy house in the middle of nowhere with nothing? Or, do you want to come home with me where I can guarantee it’ll be warm and Phil can make you a hot meal any time?”</p><p> Technoblade looked him in the eyes. Like the last time, Techno had forgone the skull which meant he could actually see the genuine concern in his brother’s eyes. The other was being completely serious and Tommy wasn’t sure how to take it.</p><p> What if this was all a ruse to get his guard down? Could he really trust that the moment he said yes, Techno wouldn’t just leave him stranded out in the middle of a frozen tundra instead? What if all this was a way of manipulating him into forgiving them that way they can laugh even harder the next time? He wasn’t sure if he could handle being betrayed again.</p><p> “I’m not saying you have to stop hating me,” Techno clarified, already sensing his growing doubts. “You can keep hating me forever if you want, I won’t stop you. But you don’t have to deal with this.”</p><p> “Tommy?...”</p><p> The blond lifted his gaze to see Wilbur floating behind Techno. The spirit frowned back at him, but he could see the small glimmer of hope in his white eyes, “Are you going to say yes?...”</p><p> Glancing back down at Techno, he could see the man was waiting for an answer. Tommy didn’t trust him at all, but he could see there was sincerity in the words. And there was always the chance that Techno was lying to him or would take it all back at any minute.</p><p> But at the same time, the offer was so tempting. He was so very cold and even if he didn’t forgive Philza, the idea of being able to go back somewhere warm and eat dinner with Phil again sounded so nice.</p><p> “Tommy?” Wilbur repeated, sounded a little worried now.</p><p> Slowly, the teen sighed, sitting up a little more and tugging the cape a little tighter around his shoulders. “Yeah,” he answered to both of them. “Yeah, I think I’ll go… But if any of you piss me off, I <em>will</em> turn around and come back.”</p><p> Techno’s lips twitched up in a small smile, “Of course.”</p><p> Wilbur let out a loud cheer, soaring upward above their heads. Tommy had to stifle a laugh at the ghost’s antics.</p><p> At last, he’d be going not home, but somewhere close.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Time to go back home to Dadza! Woo!!</p><p>I'm very sorry to those who love Dream, by the way. I also love Dream and I'm very sorry if you didn't want him to be a jerk here, but I'm living by the "Marionettes" by Kanaya version of Dream right now. XD</p><p>Also, I am considering doing one-shots and stuff for this AU after this is over! We only have a couple chapters left depending on how everything goes from here, so I hope you guys want to see that! I'd also love some ideas for things you guys would like to see with the boyos.</p><p>I also have some other things in the works. (Part of the reason this even took so long was I paused for a day to finish this KarlNap story I'm working on. Don't ship real people, that's bad. I'm going off the character personas for everyone in all my stories. But just mentioning it because if you guys want arson and happiness, I got you.)</p><p>Anywho! Please leave comments if you don't mind! I'd love to here your guys' thoughts on everything and what you think will happen from here! Also, for those asking about Wilbur: You'll get your answer eventually. Just you wait. &gt;:3</p>
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